Air handling devices, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) devices, are often used in buildings, such as homes, businesses, and offices, to maintain the interior of the building at a desired temperature and humidity. Thermostats are often used to control an air handling device within a building. Thermostats may be programmable to control the air handling device differently at different times of day and/or days of the week. Thermostats may be wired to the air handling device. Thermostats are typically installed on a wall located in one room within a building, while the air handling device is meant to control the temperature of the entire building. The thermostat may include a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature at the location of the thermostat. Even though the air handling device is configured to maintain the temperature within all of, or substantially all of, the building, various environmental factors can cause rooms to be at different temperatures. For example, different rooms may receive different amounts of sunlight and at different times of the day. Moreover, rooms that are positioned above or below garages, attics, or other spaces that are not connected with the air handling device may be hotter or colder than the room where the thermostat is located due to hot or cold air from hot or cold air radiating through the walls from an adjacent garage, attic, or uncontrolled space. Additionally, humidity may vary throughout a house due to factors like cooking and bathroom usage.
Thermostats can be relocated to a more desirable location. However, a conventional thermostat is fixed in one location and cannot be readily relocated. A user may have an interest in being able to change the room that the air handling device is controlled based upon.
Remote temperature sensors exist. However, remotely sensing the temperature in a house to control the climate in a building requires purchasing additional devices that a user would otherwise not need.
Therefore, there is a need for remote temperature and humidity control aside from a conventional thermostat. Moreover, there is a need for remote temperature and humidity control that minimizes the number of devices needed to operate air handling devices.